Chairs, sofas and the like which have cushions which conform to the user's body in order to avoid pressure points are desirable not only from the standpoint of general comfort, but also for medical reasons to support burn victims and avoid bedsores on invalids. Inflatable bladders have been used in the prior art to provide vehicle seat cushions of variable firmness. See for example Horvath et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,707,027 issued Nov. 17, 1987; Morrell U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,732 issued Feb. 5, 1975; Bentley U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,286 issued Feb. 26, 1980; Huber et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,402 issued Nov. 12, 1985; Wierwille U.S. Pat. No. 3,363,941 issued Jan. 16, 1968; and Grudzinskas U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,481 issued Oct. 28, 1986. In a vehicle seat application, firm support is the primary concern, rather than the gentle support required for medical applications or reclining chairs for relaxation. In the latter applications, considerable "give" in the supporting surface is desired so that the support is spread out over the entire surface of the user's body. From an aesthetic standpoint, however, especially for reclining chairs for residential homes, it is desirable that the surface of the chair have a firm, neat appearance when the chair is unoccupied.